Highlights from the ESMO 2024 conference

The recent 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress held in Barcelona was a focus for discussing and displaying the latest innovations in oncology. Professor Chris Nutting, a head and neck cancer specialist and Medical Assurance Director for Sciensus attended with Christopher Appleby, Business Development Director – Specialist Services. In this article, they talk about their highlights from the congress, and the future of oncology services in the UK.

Professor Chris Nutting

Medical Assurance Director – Sciensus

“The ESMO Congress is one of the largest cancer conferences in Europe, attracting around 20,000 attendees. As such, it offers attendees an opportunity to stay up to speed with the latest research and technological developments in the field of oncology. The key theme was the application of personalised medicine to cancer care.

My main takeaway was the observation that we are gradually seeing a move away from one-size-fits-all treatments towards tailored therapies based on individual tumour genetics. We’re in a transition phase right now between conventional cancer care and a more personalised approach. Conventional care is now increasingly being seen as an old school way of practicing oncology. This is where if you have prostate or lung cancer for example, then depending on the stage and how fast it is there are protocols in place to follow for your treatment. What we saw gathering more pace at the congress was the concept of a more personalised approach where each patient is treated as an individual, with a tumour biopsy taken from which you can identify what drugs may be more effective to that person’s specific cancer. At every ESMO congress I find that increasing numbers of tumour types have more genetic tests available because technology is advancing rapidly in their field.

This patient-led approach is becoming more standard practice now, especially at Sciensus. It will see better outcomes for patients as they will only need to undertake appropriate treatments which has the knock-on effect of putting less pressure on the healthcare system.

One of the ways Sciensus is leading the field here is through our Cancer Companion App. Whilst still in development, our aim for this app is to allow patients undergoing cancer treatment to be able to log their experiences with cancer treatment, allowing their healthcare professional to track what works, what doesn’t and what can be improved. It’s an exciting new development in personalising the treatment given to cancer patients, and I look forward to seeing how it develops.”

Professor Nutting is a head and neck cancer specialist. He has over 20 years of experience in treating the disease and is heavily involved in research into the many cancers that fall under the head and neck cancer umbrella and the development of new treatment pathways.

Christopher Appleby

Business development director – Specialist services

The size and scale of the ESMO conference was huge. I think this reflects the challenges associated with cancer including an ageing population, better diagnosis, increased awareness and the COVID-19 backlog. Another point of interest, is that with the planned roll out of anti-obesity medicines. This will mean some patients no longer suffer conditions we are seeing today and should live longer, increasing the likelihood of a cancer diagnosis.

Another point of note that resonated with me was the way pharma are shifting focus to understanding the patients who use their medicine. Whilst there are plenty of well-known pharmaceutical companies with strong cancer pipelines, there were many new pharma too, making it a big and healthy market. Where once a drug company would sell drugs to the hospital and be done with it, that’s no longer the case. They are thinking about how they can make more of their medicines, and how they can drive that through digital solutions and understanding more about the patient.

I had many discussions surrounding the systematic anti-cancer therapy Sciensus provides, including more than 400 different cancer regimens such as oral medications, injectables, and immunotherapy (IO).

There was also a lot of talk around improving diagnostics, from tools to genomics as well. The innovation in this field is rapidly evolving, so I look forward to my next congress to see what has been developed.

Christopher Appleby has over 15 years experience as a pharmacist, previously being the Chief Pharmacist at Sciensus. He has led teams in the provision of homecare services to patients across the UK.

Highlights from the 2024 ESMO conference include:

• Addition of immunotherapy to chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in anal canal
• Antibody–drug conjugates offer hope for patients with breast cancer including patients with brain metastases
• Pioneering the future of immunotherapy: new targets, novel strategies

About Sciensus

At Sciensus, we believe that making cancer treatment as straightforward and supportive as possible can significantly enhance patients’ overall experiences and outcomes. The key to this approach is offering patients more choices, whether in the type of treatment they receive or where they receive it. To learn more about our services and how we provide a wide range of cancer treatments in the comfort of patients’ homes, please visit: https://www.sciensus.com/cancer-care/.